More conferences

In addition to those I posted in March, here are a few more conferences of note. (Update, 5/4: I’ve added two more entries since the original publication of this post. Thanks, Chloë Reddaway and Talita Peters, for the tips!)

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Title:“The Place of Sacred Art: Exploring the Interpretation of Sacred Art in Secular and Faith Contexts”Date: May 9, 2017Location: AV Room, Gas Hall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, EnglandOrganizer:Canon Dr. Andrew Smith, director of interfaith relations for the bishop of BirminghamCost: £20Speakers: David Cheetham, Catherine Ogle, Orit Azaz, Rebecca Bridgman, Peter BradleyDescription: This symposium will consider the ways in which people reinterpret sacred art when it is displayed in new contexts or alongside art from different faith traditions, and how displaying different types of art in sacred spaces transforms our understanding of the sacred and the artistic. Presentations address how cathedrals have negotiated being open to artists of different religious backgrounds and exhibiting work that challenges and questions, and how contemporary art can offer unexpected encounters with the sacred. Registration also includes a tour through the award-winning Faith in Birmingham Gallery by curator Rebecca Bridgman.

Title: “‘any-angled light’: Poetry and the Mission of Your Church”Date: May 16–18, 2017Location: Yale University, New Haven, ConnecticutOrganizer:Yale Institute of Sacred MusicCost: $65 (registration ends May 8, noon ET!)Keynote speakers:Mary Karr and Christian WimanDescription: How does poetry equip the church to fulfill its mission of inviting others into God’s future? Drawing on spiritual verse spanning all eras from the biblical to the contemporary, this conference for church leaders and laypeople will (1) inspire the integration of poetry into a church’s congregational life and its public outreach and activism; (2) model the introduction of poetry and poetic sensibilities into worship; and (3) expose participants to diverse poetry and poetic forms. Besides plenary sessions with two of America’s finest poets, the conference includes workshops, musical worship, and a poetry slam.

Title: “Catholicism, Literature and the Arts: 1850–Present”Date: July 5–7, 2017Location: Durham University, Durham, EnglandOrganizers:Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University and Ushaw CollegeCost: £70 (discount rates for students, low-income, paper presenters)Speakers:Eamon Duffy, Terry Eagleton, Paul Lakeland, Anna Lawson, Melanie McDonagh, HE Daniel Mulhall, Paul Anthony MurrayDescription: The conference “will bring together leading scholars to address key questions in the study of Catholic art and writing, including the question of whether there is a distinctive tradition of ‘Catholic literature’. Among the main topics and themes of the conference are Catholic memoir and autobiography; Catholic fiction and poetry; Catholic readership; journalism; publishers and archives; and the visual arts. The conference will include film, music, and the visual arts, as well as literature,” and will consist of lectures, discussion groups, and workshops.

Title:“Canvas: A Conference on Theology and Creativity—Inscape, God, Art, and the Inner Life”Date: August 11–12, 2017Location:Imago Dei Community, Portland, OregonOrganizers:Humble Beast and Western SeminaryCost: $100Speakers: TBADescription: “The Canvas Conference humbly exists to inform all acts of human creativity and beauty with biblical, gospel-centered theology for the worship of the triune God. . . . We want to help build strong theological foundations for the artist and, likewise, to push Christians to pursue creative orthodoxy in their theological craft. We have found that without theology, creativity wanders from its original significance and purpose; while without creativity, theology often becomes cold, distant, and futile. In response, The Canvas Conference seeks to build bridges between the artist and the theologian by inviting God to take center stage in every human endeavor.”

Title:“Arts + Spirituality”(11th annual Verge Conference)Date: September 28–29, 2017Location: Trinity Western University, Langley, British ColumbiaOrganizer:School of the Arts, Media, and Culture, TWUCost: $199 (discount rates for presenters, students, seniors, and single-day attendees)Keynote speaker:Cam Anderson, executive director, Christians in the Visual ArtsDescription: Throughout human history and across cultures, the arts have been closely associated with spirituality and religious practice. This conference seeks to explore that connection. Paper submissions are welcome on any topic relating to the arts and spirituality, as are proposals for presentations in the form of performances. The deadline for submissions is May 31.

PAST CONFERENCE

There have been so many events organized around the topic of art and religion in the past year that it’s hard to keep up. Below is a “Study Day” that slipped by before I had the chance to promote it; I’m posting the info here so that you can see the kinds of conversations that are going on among religious studies scholars and museum professionals and can look for future opportunities to join in. (If you’re not in either field but are a museumgoer—and if you’re reading this blog, I imagine you are—a great way to get involved would be to give feedback to the museums you visit. Did their presentation of religion through art and artifact, and wall text, help you connect in a deeper way to your own faith tradition, or see others in a new light? Or did you feel it was offensive, unfair, or in some way else deficient, and if so, why?)